Best Ways to Get HVAC Leads in 2019

As the owner of an HVAC business, you’re always hungry for more leads. The more leads you get, the more likely you are to get more booked jobs (if you know how to close them, that is). So, have you looked into your company’s HVAC lead generation strategy lately?

There’s not one “right” way to get leads, but there are many ways that have been proven to work well. Ideally, you’re using several strategies in conjunction with one another to get leads from various sources, and then your sales team is employing effective strategies to turn those leads into sales.

Check out our tips below to get more leads for your HVAC company this year!

Best HVAC Lead Sources in 2019

Consumer behavior has changed drastically in the past few years, and as a result, so has the way your target audience looks for and chooses an HVAC company. While some tried-and-true lead sources remain heavy-hitters (like referrals), there are others you may not be aware of. Here are the best HVAC lead sources in 2019:

The Best Way to Get HVAC Leads Online: SEO + An Amazing Website

As we’ve mentioned, there are a lot of elements to a fully developed digital marketing strategy, but the bread and butter of digital marketing is SEO. While other channels like PPC and paid social media campaigns can get you leads fast, the best and most cost-effective way to sustain lead generation is to position your website to get lots of visits and, hopefully, leads and sales.

SEO for Lead Generation

When people need to find a local business or service, 97 percent of them go online. Once there, 93 percent turn to a search engine to find what they need.

Search engine optimization is the process of getting your website ranked higher in online search results for keywords and phrases most valuable to you; for example, “AC repair in Baltimore, MD.” It’s also the number one method of getting more HVAC leads in 2019 (aside from referrals).

It works so well because SEO targets people who are searching for your services at the moment they’re searching for them. There’s no other marketing and lead generation method that does this, except PPC search advertising (which shows ads based on what people search for).

If you’re skeptical about how SEO can help your HVAC company get more business, we’ve got case study after case study to help convince you. For example, the ACCA 2015 Contractor of the Year, GAC, is a long-time SEO client of ours. Over the years, they’ve seen snowballed growth and outstanding results, which helped them claim that top spot as the Contractor of the Year. Take a look at the case study results for yourself:

300 percent increase in new domain organic website leads in just 5 months

60,194 percent increase in organic traffic in 3 years (no, that number isn’t a mistake—we really increased it by more than 60,000 percent)

Another HVAC company we worked with had previously invested in SEO with another marketing vendor, but the strategy wasn’t working as well as they’d hoped. By optimizing the content they already had and creating additional content on the site over the course of a year, Blue Corona’s content marketing team was able to increase non-branded organic website traffic by 454% and increase online conversions (AKA web leads) by 433%. As you can see from these case studies, investing in SEO can go a long way.

Your Website for Lead Generation

Your website is not a brochure–it’s your 24/7 sales representative. It needs to not only attract homeowners, but it also needs to turn them into solid leads. There are specific things you can do to your website to encourage more leads:

How to Get HVAC Leads Fast with Pay Per Click Advertising

If you need leads, like, yesterday, a pay per click (PPC) campaign might be your best option. Unlike search engine optimization (which you should be doing anyway), PPC can give you nearly instant results once a campaign is set up. As we explained in another blog post about PPC:

“Think of it in terms of buying a house vs. renting an apartment. Investing in SEO is like buying a house. While there is an upfront cost with little initial return, you are building equity that will drive strong long-term results and gains. Investing in PPC is more like renting an apartment. You are paying a premium for an ideal location with immediate results during the timeframe the ads are running.”

With that said, it’s best—maybe imperative—to have a PPC specialist manage your paid campaigns. The world and rules of paid search are extremely complex and mistakes can cost you a lot of money. It’s in your company’s best interests—and your wallet’s, for that matter—to let the experts handle it.

How to Get HVAC Leads from Social Media

There are a lot of myths about social media out in the world. Let’s start by pointing out that social media is just one small part of an effective digital marketing strategy. If you think you will drastically improve leads just by creating a Facebook page, you’ve got the wrong idea. On the other hand, if you think social media isn’t useful for HVAC companies, I’m happy to tell you that’s not the case either.

Social media platforms help you engage with your existing customers and reach out to potential new customers to demonstrate the type of customer service and expertise they can expect from your brand. Social media can lead to more word-of-mouth referrals, increased brand loyalty, boosted website traffic, and more. Here are some basic tips to get started with social media for HVAC companies:

Be present on the platforms used by your target audience. For HVAC companies, Facebook is a must.

Create compelling content for your target audience. In other words, don’t just post promotions. No one wants to read marketing copy over and over on Facebook. Be a helpful resource to your customers by providing HVAC tips and information that help them save time and money—it’ll help build an image of your company as experts in the field.

Run paid ads and promoted posts to boost content. The competitive landscape on Facebook is intense, and that’s where paid ads and boosted posts can help. Unlike pay-per-click campaigns—which are a little pricier due to their larger potential audience—Facebook ads are very affordable and can help get your content in front of more eyes in your service area.

Run paid ads and promoted posts to get more followers. Facebook also allows you to run campaigns specifically for page “likes,” which can expand your audience quickly.

Use an authentic voice when engaging with customers. It’s not wise to haphazardly or rudely respond to social media users (regardless of how rude or negative they are about your brand) for two reasons: first, it makes your company look bad; and second, the internet never forgets. Respond the way you would want a business to respond to you—in a timely manner, friendly, and willing to help.

Have a presence on the platforms that matter. For HVAC contractors, this includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Nextdoor.

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How to Get HVAC Leads from Email Marketing

Not only can monthly email newsletters with valuable tips and information help build your authority in the HVAC industry, but they can also help drive more traffic to your website and generate leads. Consider this:

90% of email gets delivered to the intended recipient’s inbox, whereas only 2% of your Facebook fans see your posts in their News Feed.

Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter.

A message is 5x more likely to be seen in email than via Facebook.

You are 6x more likely to get a click-through from an email campaign than you are from a tweet

There’s also this: one of our HVAC clients made $17,000 in new sales from ONE email newsletter send in the slowest month of the year! You can see the case study here »

How to Get HVAC Leads from Video Marketing

More than 80 percent of the population would rather watch a video about something than read about it. Take that statistic combined with the fact that YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine, and you’ve pretty much built your case for video marketing.

Not only is video becoming the majority of the population’s preferred way to consume information, but it also increases conversion rates up to 80 percent when you put videos on your web pages. The key is in creating the right kind of videos and distributing them on platforms your target audience uses (social media, your website, email, etc.).

About The Author: Becca is a Copywriter in the Charlotte office. When she’s not helping small business owners grow their companies, she enjoys listening to podcasts, re-reading Harry Potter, and exploring the city of Charlotte.
View more blogs by Becca Starkes

The information on this website is for informational purposes only; it is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. It does not constitute professional advice. All information is subject to change at any time without notice. Contact us for complete details.